This invention relates to an athletic device and more particularly to a device to be used in the sport of bowling to assist a bowler to maintain the proper hand position so as to release the bowling ball in the most favorable manner. In the sport of bowling, it is desirable to restrict the said bowler's hand from rotating inwardly over on top of the said bowling ball before release of the said bowling ball, and so one of the fundamental rules of bowling is that the said bowler must be able to feel his hand position at the release of the said bowling ball and the most commonly used method to guage or feel the hand position is one in which the position of the thumb in the said bowling ball is envisioned by the use of an imaginary clock, which is maintained in the said bowler's mind throughout the entire swing and approach and the subsequent delivery or release of the said bowling ball.
The said imaginary clock is impressed on the said bowler's mind in the following manner; assuming the said bowler is a right-handed bowler, the said bowler allows the right arm to hang straight down at the side of the said bowler's body, then rotates the right hand so the thumb of the said right hand points directly forward. The said bowler's right hand is now in the 12:00 o'clock position, and any rotation of the said right hand in an outward, clockwise direction will make the said thumb go forward on the imaginary clock to 1:00 o'clock or 2:00 o'clock, or even to 3:00 o'clock, depending on how far the said right hand and thumb are rotated. If the said right hand and thumb are rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the imaginary clock goes backward to 10:00 o'clock, or 9:00 o'clock, or even to 7:00 o'clock, depending on how far the said right hand and thumb are rotated.
In the event the said bowler is a left-handed bowler, the imaginary clock would be used in reversed manner, because when a left-handed bowler rotates the left hand in an outward direction, the said left hand rotates in a counterclockwise direction. However, to avoid confusion to the reader, all further references to the said imaginary clock will apply to a right-handed bowler.
The proper bowling ball release for either a "hooking" ball or a "curving" ball for a right-handed bowler can be achieved only by having the right thumb, at the release of the said bowling ball, in a position somewhere between 7:00 o'clock and 11:00 o'clock, as shown on the said imaginary clock.
In the prior art, athletic devices to restrict the bowling hand from rotating inwardly over on top of the bowling ball before release have been proposed, however, those known all have certain disadvantages, and there are some previous devices which have attempted to completely immobilize the bowler's hand or wrist to achieve this purpose. However, there are certain types of bowling ball release which cannot be utilized unless the bowler's hand and wrist are free to rotate outwardly during the swing of the said bowling ball.